1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of furniture, and in particular, to a chair and desk assembly having members formed from a single sheet of, for example, conventional plywood, that are assembled into interlocking relationship requiring no fasteners for the assembly. More particularly, this invention relates to a chair and desk assembly, that optionally includes a reading stand, book storage compartment and may be a rocking chair or stationary chair.
Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a combination desk and chair that is a “knock-down” or “ready-to-assemble” (RTA) chair capable of being simply and readily assembled without the need for any conventional fastening means, and being designed to function as either a steady chair embodiment or a rocking chair embodiment. The assembly can be readily disassembled and knocked down into a compact form for storage, transportation, or packaging.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional chairs include back, seat, and leg portions that are generally connected together permanently. As a result, such conventional chairs cannot readily be collapsed so as to occupy less space in storage and so as to be more easily transported from one location to another. Furniture of the knock down type that may be readily disassembled for storage and/or transportation or packaging has long been known. Usually the knock down furniture in the prior art employs fasteners of various types including threaded fasteners, dowels, or wedges to align and join the various parts into a completed assembly. Such knock-down furniture is known to the prior art and is advantageous from the viewpoint of both shipment and storage, as well as size. There are also chair designs known to the prior art which, in one orientation function as a steady chair and, in an alternative orientation, function as another type of chair, such as for example, a rocking chair.
It is, nevertheless, advantageous to provide a chair and desk assembly of knock-down design or ready-to-assemble (RTA) design capable of being simply and readily assembled and disassembled, without the need for conventional fasteners.
The following U.S. patents and Published Applications are representative of some of the known knock-down and ready-to-assemble (RTA) designs;
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,419,028 and 4,867,327 to Roland discloses a knock down chair made from an assembly of interlocking planar members requiring no fasteners. The various members can be made from a single sheet of commercially available plywood and include first and second side members, a seat member, a pair of transverse seat support members, and a back member. The transverse seat support members are rotatingly interlocked to the side members, and the seat member is interlocked to the side members to hold the side members, the seat support members, and the seat in interlocking relationship. The back member is interlocked to the side members to complete the assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,950 to Infanti discloses a child's knock-down chair capable of being assembled without the need for any conventional fasteners and comprised of two side parts and two cross pieces which act respectively as seat and back for a steady chair, and as a back and seat for a rocking chair.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,611 to Greenwood discloses a chair structure which can be used by young children either as a bouncer or as a rocker. The structure includes a frame member having a pair of transversely spaced, generally U-configured side portions and at least one seat member raised above a support surface. The frame member is oscillatable or rockable depending upon which one of the opposite end portions thereof is engaged with the support surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,467 to Kawecki discloses a knockdown chair kit which may be assembled without glue, nails, rivets or other fasteners. The kit is fabricated by means of laser cutting. The chair is made out of plywood, solid wood, wood composite, plastic, metal or other similar thin, flat stock. It uses a series of hooks, which hooks fit into slots having matched positions, in order to rigidly interlock the component members of the chair together and prevent them from pulling apart as well as flush mounted pegs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,548 to Battle discloses a collapsible chair that includes a pair of planar side panels, a planar back panel, a planar seat panel and spacer elements, slots and lock-tabs.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,619,749, 6,807,912, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0107254 and 2003/0107255 to Willy disclose a ready-to-assemble (RTA) furniture system that includes a collection of identically configured side panels, with sets of the side panels having different aesthetic and/or functional features, a collection of base panels and back panels spanning between pairs of side panels, the collection of base and back panels being provided in different sets of lengths and configurations to permit construction of different types of furniture. The panels are interconnected through a series of slots and notches. Locking members are provided that can lock the entire RTA furniture item together.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0000808 to Maloney discloses outdoor slat furniture having a pair of laterally spaced apart supports and slats disposed there between and connected thereto and in which the slats individually or in groups are snap fittingly connected to the supports in a rigid manner such that the furniture is rigid without the need for further reinforcement. The slats are connected to the supports by fingers projecting therefrom into recesses in the supports.
There is thus a need for a combination desk and chair that is a “knock-down” or “ready-to-assemble” (RTA) chair capable of being simply and readily assembled without the need for any conventional fastening means, having members formed from a single sheet of, for example, conventional plywood, that are assembled into interlocking relationship requiring no fasteners for the assembly.